The New Yorker

It now seems almost certain that Vice-President Kamala Harris will be the Democratic nominee to face Donald Trump in November. But no one runs for President alone. So, who will be her running mate? Any V.P. choice involves weighing factors such as readiness, regional balance, and demographics. With that in mind—and with the caveat that the process is unpredictable—read Amy Davidson Sorkin’s list of some leading contenders for the job: https://lnkd.in/gt7nbVCh

In a special episode of our Political Scene podcast, the Washington Roundtable discusses President Biden’s stunning exit from the 2024 Presidential election and his endorsement of Vice-President Kamala Harris to lead the Democratic ticket. How could this new matchup change the terms of the race, now that Biden’s age is no longer a key issue? Listen here. http://nyer.cm/VjoXwOh

In early August of last year, the Tuareg band Mdou Moctar was in the midst of its U.S. tour when Niger, the native country of three of the four band members, experienced a right-wing military coup, leading to a stretch of violent unrest. The band—the guitarist, singer, and leader Mdou Moctar; the rhythm guitarist Ahmoudou Madassane; the drummer Souleymane Ibrahim; and the bassist and producer Mikey Coltun—had been scheduled to return to Niger. Now its members were stranded in the States and forced to raise money via GoFundMe in order to finance an unexpected stay. The group had already written and recorded its latest album, “Funeral for Justice,” before the coup took place, but it expressed a political anguish that felt all the more relevant in light of recent events. Mdou Moctar’s new album “Funeral for Justice” teems with the band’s signature brilliant noise, Hanif Abdurraqib writes. “But it also overflows with a sort of rageful questioning, with a series of direct addresses that make the listening experience feel like a form of bearing witness.” Read Abdurraqib’s full review: https://lnkd.in/gMvJsHG3

A cartoon by Sara Lautman. #NewYorkerCartoons See more from this week’s issue: https://lnkd.in/gy7ZWmxg

“Clover Hill, a tiny restaurant tucked discreetly into an impossibly charming cobblestoned block in Brooklyn Heights, feels like a secret—such a lovely room, such finesse in the kitchen, such polished romanticism in the service,” Helen Rosner writes. But for the most part a meal there is straightforward: “A course arrives, a server briefly describes it, and then you’re left to eat. The kitchen is open, but there’s no traditional counter seating. Flavors are thoughtfully harmonic—sweet Hokkaido scallop playing coyly off the brine of salmon roe and the silken sourness of uni—but there’s no personal storytelling, no running narrative put forth about ‘Chef’ and his thoughts and dreams.” Read Rosner’s full review of the restaurant: https://lnkd.in/gwr39Hy4

More than 20 years after it first arrived on Hong Kong screens, “July Rhapsody” has finally opened theatrically in the U.S., in a new 4K restoration now showing at Film Forum. Justin Chang writes that the film emerges feeling like “a freshly opened time capsule.” Ann Hui’s 2002 drama follows a high-school literature teacher navigating a midlife crisis. “You don’t need to know the direct translation of the movie’s original Chinese title, ‘Man, Forty,’ to see that this is the story of a male midlife crisis, or to guess the illicit nature that that crisis will take,” Chang writes. Read his full review: https://lnkd.in/gPPh5G4t

Will the rising tensions between Israel and Hezbollah lead to all-out war? “Some Israeli officials I spoke to envisioned a war on four fronts—with Hamas to the south, the West Bank to the east, Hezbollah to the north, and Iran,” Dexter Filkins writes. http://nyer.cm/xTxPZKP

A cartoon by Roz Chast. #NewYorkerCartoons See more from this week’s issue: https://lnkd.in/gPFda6bY

Katy Perry’s breakout moment, in the late 2000s, had a type of frivolity and irreverence that feels difficult to summon now, Carrie Battan writes. Her 2010 album “Teenage Dream” was emblematic of an early Obama era of colorful, hedonistic pop music made by women. Long before TikTok became a social-media phenomenon, Kesha made her début, in 2009, with a single of the same name. Elsewhere on the charts during this era, with the campy, persona-driven music of new stars like Lady Gaga and Nicki Minaj, pop was a lot of fun—a larger-than-life parade of pleasure and spectacle. The moment may have been so over the top that it would leave us with a decade-long hangover. With her first two albums, “Pure Heroine,” from 2014, and “Melodrama,” from 2017, Lorde became the poster child for a wave of savvy anti-pop stars who pushed back on the major-label pop machinations of previous generations: Lana Del Rey, Billie Eilish, and Olivia Rodrigo. These young stars posed a further existential threat to pop, by challenging its emotional and stylistic traditions. This summer, though, has been filled with pure pop moments that call back to an earlier time. The stickiest song of the summer has been “Espresso,” from the former Disney star Sabrina Carpenter. Like “Espresso,” other songs and records of this season have been exuberant, hyperfeminine, and primed for viral success: Tinashe, after many fallow years, experienced a renaissance with “Nasty,” a hyper-suggestive song on which she asks, “Is somebody gonna match my freak?” But nobody has set this summer’s pop mood quite like Charli XCX, the prolific British singer who seems to keep one eye on social media and the other on the club dance floor at all times. Read Battan on the summer of girly pop: https://lnkd.in/g469fQ5Q

In early August of last year, the Tuareg band Mdou Moctar was in the midst of its U.S. tour when Niger, the native country of three of the four band members, experienced a right-wing military coup, leading to a stretch of violent unrest. The band—the guitarist, singer, and leader Mdou Moctar; the rhythm guitarist Ahmoudou Madassane; the drummer Souleymane Ibrahim; and the bassist and producer Mikey Coltun—had been scheduled to return to Niger. Now its members were stranded in the States and forced to raise money via GoFundMe in order to finance an unexpected stay. The group had already written and recorded its latest album, “Funeral for Justice,” before the coup took place, but it expressed a political anguish that felt all the more relevant in light of recent events. Mdou Moctar’s new album “Funeral for Justice” teems with the band’s signature brilliant noise, Hanif Abdurraqib writes. “But it also overflows with a sort of rageful questioning, with a series of direct addresses that make the listening experience feel like a form of bearing witness.” Read Abdurraqib’s full review: https://lnkd.in/gMvJsHG3